Method of making an ornamental faceplate



Aug. 20, 1968 A. J. RICH METHOD OF MAKING AN ORNAMENTED FACEPLATE Filed April 26, 1965 United States Patent 3,397,441 METHOD OF MAKING AN ORNAMENTAL FACEPLATE Anthony J. Rich, Villa Park, Ill., assignor to Rich Engineering Inc., Franklin Park, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 450,858 3 Claims. (Cl. 29160) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of making an ornamental faceplate for electrical apparatus having a speaker unit which involves extruding a plate having an imperforate central portion from the front side of which extend inclined parallel flat faced ribs, applying paint to the entire surface area of the front side of the plate containing the ribs, wiping the paint off the flat faces of the ribs, and cutting an opening in the faceplate from the rear thereof.

It is common to mount a speaker unit in alignment with a circular opening cut in the faceplate of a cabinet or the like. Generally, the hole is covered with a fabric material to cover the cone of the speaker unit. The interruption of the continuity of the faceplate by the speaker unit is considered by many people to be aesthetically undesirable. However, this problem has been tolerated be cause of the requirement of an opening through which the sound from the speaker unit can pass through the faceplate.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method of making a faceplate which presents a very attractive and consistent ornamental appearance for the full length thereof, and wherein, if desired, an opening can be cut in the faceplate and a speaker unit mounted behind the opening without the opening being visible from the front of the faceplate. In such case, the ornamental effect of the faceplate would not be modified in any Way by the mounting of the speaker unit behind the faceplate opening.

The above and other objects of the invention, and the features thereof which satisfy the same, are disclosed in the specification to follow, the claims and the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, sectional view of a faceplate constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cabinet of an audio amplifier unit with the faceplate of FIG. 1 applied thereto after cutting a hole in the faceplate and mounting a speaker unit therebehind, and cutting other holes therein for receiving the shafts of controls for operating the amplifier unit;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the faceplate applied to the amplifier unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the faceplate of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary rear view of the faceplate of FIG. 3.

Refer now to FIG. 1 which illustrates a faceplate 2 which is most advantageously a metal extrusion where the cross section of the faceplate as illustrated therein is identical for the entire length of the faceplate. The faceplate 2 is cut to the desired size and, in a manner to be explained, where necessary it is further machined as by milling various portions thereof and drilled with holes to adapt the same to a particular use.

The extruded faceplate illustrated in FIG. 1 has a front side 2a which is designed to impart an attractive ornaice mental design comprising vertically spaced horizontal stripes 4 for approximately the upper two thirds of the faceplate. The stripes are a light color, such as a silver color, and the background for the stripes is a dark color, such as black. The outer side of the panel further has a light colored, relatively wide rim portion 6 preferably of the same light color as the stripes 4. The striped design described is not per se a novel. What is novel, however, is the construction of the faceplate which permits the striped design to be maintained for the full length of the faceplate even in applications where openings, such as a speaker opening 8 (see FIGS. 2 through 5), is formed therein behind the striped portion thereof.

To this end, the faceplate 2 comprises an initially imperforate central portion 10 from the front side 2a of which extend in preferably closely spaced relation short inclined ribs 12. In the embodiment illustrated, the ribs incline downwardly at an angle of approximately 45 (although the angle is not of any particular importance) and the bottom margins of each rib are contiguous to the upper portion of the rib immediately below the same, so that the front surface 10a of the central portion 10 of the faceplate is invisible from practically all angles of vision.

The ribs 12 terminate at a point spaced appreciably above the bottom of the faceplate in the embodiment of the invention being illustrated, to leave a smooth surfaced or fiat portion 14. As will appear, this flat portion 14 is a convenient plate on the faceplate to mount controls for electrical equipment or the like with which the faceplate may be used.

The rim portion 6 of the faceplate is preferably formed by thickening the faceplate at the perimeter thereof to form a raised flat face 6a. The various ribs 12 are also preferably formed with a flat face 12a which are in the same plane as the plane of the flat face 6a of the rim 6 of the faceplate.

Where the faceplate 2 is an extruded metal member, such as one made of aluminum, the entire faceplate will initially be a silvery color. To obtain the striped effect described above, the entire front side 2a of the faceplate would be dipped into or sprayed with a paint having a color which preferably contrasts with the color of the metal, such as black. After application of the paint, the outer surfaces of the front side of the faceplate, namely the surface 6a of the plate rim and surfaces 12a of the inclined ribs 12, are wiped clean of paint. The wiped surfaces of the ribs 12 will form the narrow horizontal stripes 4 referred to above.

The rear side 2b of the faceplate 2 has a pair of vertically spaced, confronting projections 18-18 initially running the full length of the extruded faceplate. These projections include a short rearwardly extending wall 18a and a short inwardly extending Wall 18b. The projections 1818 are of the same dimensions and form confronting channels 2020 adapted to receive the flange 22 (FIG. 3) of a speaker unit identified by reference numeral 24 in FIG. 2.

The faceplate 2 can be used for a purely ornamental effect in the condition shown in FIG. 1. However, in most circumstances, it would be modified in some way, such as in the preferred manner to be described to adapt it to a particular use, such as a faceplate for an amplifier cabinet identified by reference numeral 26 in FIG. 2.

Where the faceplate is used for the purposes shown in FIG. 2, various holes are drilled or otherwise formed in the central portion 10 of the faceplate between the ribs 12 and the rim 6a, to form pass-through openings for the shafts of switches, potentiometers, etc., on the outside of which are connected the knobs 30 shown in FIG. 2.

The aforementioned speaker unit opening 8 is formed in the faceplate by a milling tool rotated at an axis at right angles to the plane of the faceplate, which cuts through the back side of the faceplate only to the front face a thereof. A view of the resulting opening is best shown in FIG. 5. As there shown, the speaker unit opening 8 is substantially completely covered by the inclined ribs 12, so that the opening 8 is substantially invisible from practically all angles of vision from the front side 2a of the faceplate.

The channel forming projections 18-18 are preferably milled or otherwise cut away for their entire length except opposite the speaker unit opening 8. As previously indicated, the speaker may be attached to the faceplate by sliding the flange 22 of the speaker unit into the channels 20-20 formed by the projections 18-18. Obviously, the spacing of the projections 18-18 is made to accommodate a speaker unit having a given sized flange. The flange of the speaker unit can be anchored in place by cutting Openings in the projections 18-18 and threading screws or other fastener elements into the openings of the speaker unit flange.

When the resultant faceplate is mounted on the front of the cabinet 26 in FIG. 2, the front side of the faceplate will present an uninterrupted design of closely spaced, light colored stripes 4, with a dark colored background supplied by the black paint coating the outermost surfaces of the ribs 12 and the flat portion 14 of the faceplate.

It should be understood that numerous modifications may be made in the preferred form of the invention described above without deviating from the broad aspects thereof. For example, instead of milling a single circular opening 8 for the speaker unit 24, other opening configurations can be made.

I claim:

1. A method of making an ornamental faceplate for electrical apparatus, said method comprising the steps of: forming a plate having an imperforate central portion from the front side of which extend substantially identical, inclined, parallel, closely spaced, flat faced ribs, the outermost end of each rib being visible and extending at least to a point contiguous to the base portion of the adjacent rib, applying paint to the entire surface area of the front side of the plate containing the ribs, and wiping the paint oif the flat faces of the ribs, the color of the paint contrasting to the color of the plate wherein the flat faces of the ribs form a striped pattern.

2. A method of making an ornamental faceplate for electrical apparatus having a speaker unit, said method comprising the steps of: extruding a plate having an identical cross section throughout, the plate having an imperforate central portion from the front side of which extend substantially identical, inclined parallel closely spaced, flat faced ribs extending the length of the plate, the outermost end of each rib being visible and extending at least to a point contiguous to the base portion of the adjacent rib, applying paint to the entire surface area of the front side of the plate containing the ribs, wiping the paint off the flat faces of the ribs, the color of the paint contrasting to the color of the plate wherein the flat faces of the ribs form a striped pattern, and cutting an opening in the faceplate from the rear side thereof behind the ribs which opening extends through the plate only between the oints of connection of the ribs to the central portion of the faceplate, wherein the opening and a speaker unit to be mounted behind the opening would be obscured by the ribs.

3. A method of making an ornamental faceplate for electrical apparatus having a speaker unit, said method comprising the steps of: extruding a metal plate having an identical cross section throughout, the plate having an i-mperforate central portion from the front side of which extend subs antially identical, parallel, closely spaced, flat faced ribs, the outermost end of each rib being visible and extending at least to a point contiguous to the base portion of the adjacent rib, and cutting an opening in the faceplate from the rear side thereof behind the ribs and between angle members which opening extends through the plate only between the points of connection of the ribs to the central portion of the faceplate, wherein the opening and a speaker unit to be mounted between said angle members would be obscured by the ribs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,050,575 8/1936 Krause 18131 2,463,339 3/ 1949 Wetzel et al.

2,510,103 6/1950 Griflin 3127 X 2,750,245 6/ 1956 MacIntyre 312-7 3,039,574 6/1962 Miller 29-160 X THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

